Healthy Oceans Seafood Guide

Not all seafood is equal and consumer choices do make a difference for ocean life. The Safina Center (formerly Blue Ocean Institute) has helped consumers discover the connection between a healthy ocean, fishing, and seafood since 2003.

Visit our searchable Healthy Oceans Seafood Guide for color-coded ratings for popular, wild-caught seafood. Just type in the fish you want to learn about – common or sushi name.

Recently, we took our partnership with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch® program to a new level in order to provide consumers with even more sustainable seafood recommendations. The Safina Center and Seafood Watch are now using the same science-based criteria and methodology to rate seafood species. Now our seafood ratings list contains seafood species rated by both The Safina Center and Seafood Watch. These ratings are determined by evaluating each species’ abundance in the wild, how well the fishing is controlled and managed, and how the fishing affects other species and habitats. We also include health advisory information to alert consumers to contaminants and mercury in some seafood.

Each rating takes months of research to condense dozens of scientific and government reports. Additionally, each report is peer reviewed to ensure each rating is accurate and up-to-date. Our work is transparent, authoritative, and easy for consumers to understand and use.

Full scientific reports are provided for all seafood listed.

Some of our seafood ratings have changed as a result of our new partnership with Seafood Watch.